White Repetoire

[GameOverZiggy]

Hello everyone, I am looking for a good opening repetoire for white. I play the French Defense and the Benko Gambit, Benoni System as black. I prefer slower games i'm not good in totally wild positions. So I was thinking along the lines of an English opening. What do you guys think?

[ketchuplover]

I think there's a book titled "How to Build Your Opening Repertoire" or something like that. Good luck

[Chuckychess]

There are a number of factors that come in to play when choosing an opening repertoire. One factor is "time." If your chess study time is limited, then you might want to avoid highly topical openings. For example, if you like to play 1 e4 and your opponent plays 1...c5, then it is probably not a good idea to play the "Open Sicilian" (i.e. 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cd 4 Nd4). There is just too much to study and remember trying to keep up with the Najdorf, the Dragon, etc. An 1 e4 player with limited time should play something like 2 c3, or the Grand Prix Attack (1 e4, 2 Nc3, 3 f4).

"Paint-by-the-numbers" openings like the King's Indian Attack (1 Nf3 2 g3 3 Bg2 4 O-O) and the London System (1 d4 2 Nf3 3 Bf4) don't promise much of an opening advantage, but they are very easy to learn, and you are not likely to get in trouble very often in the opening.

The English opening is relatively easy to learn, and promises a higher liklihood of obtaining an opening advantage than the KIA or the London. I highly recommend "The Dynamic English" by Tony Kosten.

If you have a lot of time to study, then your best bet is to play the stuff that many top GM's play, like the Queen's Gambit for 1 d4 fans, and the Ruy Lopez and Open Sicilian for 1 e4 players.

Anyway, that' my "two-cents" worth.

[planahath]

I think the Kings Indian Attack is a good way to play with White. Firstly you don't need to memorize massive amounts of opening theory like you do with the Sicilian or Ruy Lopez. Secondly, the opening is more based on plans rather than specific theory and so it's easier to understand. You could still play 1. e4 and play it against the French and Caro-Kann but I prefer to play 1. Nf3 to guarantee that I'll be able to play it.

[Boggled]

Hmm, some good advice from previous posts. I will just add that after 1.e4! there are many ways to steer the game into calm, quiet and deeply strategic channels. There are many Anti-Sicilian lines that you can choose from that have a good dose of poison, but avoid the main theoretical variations. Consider the Bg5 variations. You could also play c3 against the Sicilians. Against e5 you could go into a Worrall Attack (in fact you can play Qe2 against almost all of blacks replys to 1.e4,e5 2.Nf3,Nc6 3.Bb5,a6 4.Ba4) which will favor maneuvering and planning, not to mention avoid most theoretical preparation that your opponents will have. If black goes for a Petrov you could play 3.d4!? The Classical variation of the Caro-Kann also lends itself to slow building. Since you already play the French as black, you should have an idea about what variations are more critical. This can be a real bonus! By playing an opening from both sides you gain a certain flexibility in your opening lines.

Happy Hunting!

[chachaman]

scotch gambit

1. e4 e5
2. nf3 nc6
3. d4

[diarist]

I think you might look at the Trompovsky. While it has an element of controlled wildness, its usually white who dictates the pawn structure. If you prefer playing with fixed pawns (ie, Benko & French) you'd probably find the Tromp to your taste. A big advantage: you play your own opening as opposed to memorizing lines of the the KID,Grunfeld, etc.

Pick up a copy of Wells' book on it and you'll have almost all you need.